Not in Our Name: Portugal Must Act to Stop the Genocide in Gaza

More than 120 Portuguese cultural figures—from actors and musicians to writers, filmmakers, and academics—have signed an urgent petition demanding that Portugal take a firm, active stance in defense of human rights and peace in Gaza. Their message is unequivocal: Portugal cannot remain a spectator to state-sanctioned mass killing.

What began as a response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, has turned into one of the most devastating and prolonged assaults on civilian life in recent history. Over 59,000 people—many of them children—have been killed in Gaza. Entire hospitals have been flattened. Water, food, and electricity are being weaponized. Humanitarian workers are risking their lives to feed the besieged, only to find their efforts blocked. This is not collateral damage—it is a calculated policy of erasure.

And now, voices from Portugal are rising up to say: Not in our name.

A Cultural Frontline for Human Dignity

The petition, addressed to the President of the Portuguese Parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, calls for three concrete actions:

1. An immediate ceasefire.
2. Unrestricted humanitarian access to Gaza through the United Nations.
3. Official recognition by Portugal’s Parliament and Government that genocide is occurring.

These demands are not radical—they are the bare minimum required by international law, human decency, and Portugal’s own stated commitments to global justice.

Among the petition’s signatories are musicians such as Ana Moura, Salvador Sobral, Paulo Furtado (The Legendary Tigerman), and Adolfo Luxúria Canibal; actors like Maria de Medeiros, Ivo Canelas, and Albano Jerónimo; and public intellectuals including José Luís Peixoto and Maria Manuel Mota. Politicians across the spectrum—Joana Mortágua, Catarina Martins, Pedro Marques Lopes—have added their names as well.

Their solidarity is not symbolic. It is strategic. By uniting cultural capital with civic pressure, the petition aims to push the conversation from social media outrage to parliamentary action.

When Neutrality Becomes Complicity

Neutrality in the face of horror is not a position—it’s permission. Portugal, as a signatory of the Geneva Conventions and a member of the European Union, has a legal and moral obligation to condemn war crimes and prevent genocide. Yet until now, official responses have been tepid, cautious, and drenched in diplomatic ambiguity.

The petition’s signatories are clear: Genocide is not a grey area.

The language used by Israeli officials—justifying collective punishment, starvation, and total annihilation—has drawn global condemnation. The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. The Portuguese state cannot afford to be on the wrong side of history.

A Line in the Sand

The petition is not just a plea for Gaza. It is a demand for Portugal to reclaim its moral compass. To remind Europe that foreign policy should not be driven by fear or alliances, but by the defense of life itself.

It is also a reminder that cultural workers—so often dismissed as marginal—are often the first to see clearly, to name violence when politics falter.

For the petition to be formally debated in Parliament, it needs 7,500 signatures. This is not an abstract number. It is the threshold for action. Each signature is a line in the sand. A refusal to be complicit. A cry for dignity.

What You Can Do

1. Sign the petition. Add your voice here.
2. Share it widely. Mobilize your networks—online and offline.
3. Pressure your representatives. Ask them to support the petition’s demands.
4. Attend public events, protests, and teach-ins. Refuse silence.
5. Keep reading, listening, and naming what’s happening for what it is: genocide.

This Is the Time

History is written not only by victors, but by those who refused to look away. Portugal has a chance to stand on the side of humanity. To turn cultural conscience into political courage.

Let the Parliament hear it. Let the world know it.

Gaza is bleeding. Portugal must act.